ii6 



GARDENING. 



/an. /, 



in cooler houses. The blue and white ones 

 named last are almost perpetual bloom- 

 ing indoors, and too when outside in 

 summer, thriving in warm dry places. 



The different Oxalises, especially 

 the little red flowered one, and the single 

 and double flowered yellow ones(cernua) 

 and the variegated edged one ( variabilis) 

 are all very pretty in the daytime lor 

 baskets, brackets, or sunny places in the 

 greenhouse or window. Rest them in 

 summer and grow them in winter. 



ToRENiA AsiATiCA as a basket plant in 

 a warm gnenhouse, if kept clean from 

 mealy bugs, is always full of prttty blue 

 flowers; and as it roots readily from cut- 

 tings fresh thrifty specimens can always 

 be had. 



ToxicopHL.^A sPECTABiLis is an e%-er- 

 green shrub from South Africa. Wegrow 

 it as a pot plant, and in December and 

 Januarj' every branchlet is laden with 

 dense terminal and axillary corymbs of 

 white, very fragrant flowers, somewhat 

 reminding one of very close heads of 

 white lilac. It bears berries with us; they 

 are black, ovate, the size of a cherry, 

 fleshy with two large seeds in each. They 

 take a year to mature, we frequently 

 have ripe fruit and the next year's blos- 

 soms on the plant at the same time. As 

 the whole plant has the reputation of 

 being very poisonous, we have nevercon- 

 sidered it safe to taste the Iruit. The 

 plants are long-lived but not fast grow- 

 ing. You should get a plant of this if you 

 want sweet fragrance in your greenhouse 

 in winter. 



Aponogeton niSTACHYON is a little 

 aquatic plant from the Cape of Good 

 Hope and which grows very easily in a 

 tub, pail or basin half filled with loam 

 and full with water, and placed where it 

 has good light. It blooms all winter, its 

 flowers being white, of good size and 

 quite fragrant. As cut flowers they are 

 not of much account, they wilt so quick 

 unless the stems are so short that the 

 blossoms almost touch the water, in that 

 condition they last a long time. 



Ipomcea Horsfalli/e is a vigorous 

 thick-leaved vine from the West Indies. 

 It grows well out of doors in summer but 

 doesn't get into bloom before October or 

 November— too late for out of doors in 

 the north; but grown in a warm green- 

 house either in a pot or tub or planted in 

 a bed it blossoms splendidly between 

 October and New Years. Its "flowers are 

 deep glossy rose-purple. There is also a 

 white flowered form of it as easily grovsn 

 and flowered as the purple one. Hose it 

 frequently and vigorously to keepitclean, 

 but don't over-soak it at the root in win- 

 ter. In the case of /. Leari and others 

 that bloom well out of doors in summer 

 there is no need of loading up our green- 

 houses with them in winter, just keej) 

 over a few young plants for spring plant- 

 ing. 



Where there is plenty of room alla- 

 niandas, Balfour's clerodcndron, the 

 laurel-leaved thunbergia, Bigtmnia ven- 

 usta and some other vines should now be 

 in good bloom. All love a little warmth, 

 say 50° or over. The allamanda and 

 clerodeudron if not needed in winter and 

 it is desirable to cut them in to make 

 room for other plants just now, giving 

 them the possession in summer, may be 

 cut back and kept dry at the root, and 

 at the cool end of the wami greenhouse. 

 Smilax .should be good now. A little 

 later when it is in bloom it is very pretty 

 and exceedingly sweet. The fem-likc 

 asparagus {plumosus) isliked betterthan 

 smilax as a vine, and when cut it lasts 

 longer. The same treatment suits both. 



ONflTS—OREENFLY— ANEMONES— RANUN- 

 CULUS. 



M. L , Pleasant Plains, 111., writes: "1. 

 My conservatory is troubled with gnats. 

 Then after a time I notice the little green 

 aphis. Do the gnats produce the aphis? 

 How can I get rid of each? 



2. I have anemone tubers, also ranun- 

 culus. When and how shall I plant them? 

 Can they be put in pots and rooted in the 

 cellar aiid forced as liyacinthsand tulips?" 



1. Without seeing someof the "gnats" 

 we can not tell what they are, but it is 

 unlikely that they have any connection 

 with the green aphis. Fresh buhach 

 powder blown into the atmosphere will 

 probably destroy the "gnats." Fumigat- 

 ing with tobacco smoke, or a liberal use 

 of fresh tobacco stems scattered under or 

 on the benches. or a strongtobacco vapor 

 raised by having fresh stems on the hot 

 water pipes and moistening them with 

 water should destroy the greenfly. Dip- 

 ping the heads of thf plants into tobacco 

 water or syringing them with the same 

 also hrlps to kill the aphides. 



2. Pot them at once, using 5 or G-inch 

 pots, and put three or four tubers into 

 each pot, covering them an inch deep. 

 Then treat them exactly as you would 

 hyacinths in pots, except that the pots 

 should not becovered over so deep with 

 earth. Or, if you want them for out of 

 doors plant them in cuttingflats, 3 inches 

 apart, and in spring when they begin to 

 grow lift them out and plant them in the 

 borders, or plant them in a cold frame. 

 They are fairly satisfactory as pot plants, 

 both thrive admirably in frames, and 

 while the anemones do nicely in warm 

 sheltered spots outdoors the ranunculuses 

 do becter in frames. 



species? If hardy, fill a flat— a shallow 

 box such as florists use for starting seeds 

 or cuttings in— with light sandy soil to 

 within %-inch of brim, then sowthe seed, 

 and cover with 14-inch deep of the same 

 soil; over this place a layer of common 

 excelsior packing three inches deep, and 

 set the box in a shaded cold frame. If a 

 tender species prepare the flat and sow 

 the seed in the same way, but take it 

 indoors. 



4. Alba lutea grandiflora, white and 

 yellow; Aurantiaca, orange scarlet; Bou- 

 quet de Flore, pink and white; Cruenta, 

 scarlet; Dr. Asa Gray, orange scarlet; 

 Grandeur Triumphante, dark rose; Nar- 

 cissiflora, yellow; Punicea, crimson- 

 .scarlet; Richardii, pink and yellow; Rosea 

 rotundiflora, rose and orange, and W. C. 

 Bryant, deep pink; all strong, good, hardy 

 sorts. And be sure you get our native 

 Vaseyi, lovely pale rose, earlv, good 

 flame-colored varieties of A. calendulacea 

 and A. arbor which is white flowered and 

 late. If vour ground is suitable for it 

 Azalea mollis should do well at Washing- 

 ton, and when it does well its large flow- 

 ers are very showy. The greenhouse 

 azaleas are also hardy with you. Take 

 a step into the U. S. Botanical Garden, 

 and in a border just inside near the gate 

 opposite the Capitol grounds you will 

 probably see a bed of them. And don't 

 forget Azalea amoena.it is a little gem and 

 should make a fine border to the bed of 

 larger sorts. 



5. Yes, but keep the earth about the 

 roots slightly moist. Cut back the plants 

 a good deal before storing them away, if 

 their roots are good they should throw 

 up strong underground shoots in spring. 



VIOLETS-CANNAS-BlONONIA-flZALEAS- 

 FLUMBAOO. 



1. What is the proper way to treat a 

 spent hotbed when you want to plant 

 violets? Mine has four inches of top soil 

 above the rotted horse manure. 1 did 

 nothing with it and the plants seem to be 

 doing all right. 



2. I cannot get my canna seed to 

 germinate. They were soaked a day in 

 warm water, one end notched with a file 

 then planted in an east window of a 

 steam heated room. Four weeks and no 

 sign of a green leaf yet. In the cold frame 

 they have been in two months with the 

 same result. I am now soaking some for 

 two weeks. 



3. I have some seed of a choice big- 

 nonia. How would you start it? 



4. Please mention some good hardy 

 azaleas and give us your opinion of 

 Azalea mollis. 



5. Will Plumbago Capensis live in a 

 cellar for the winter? C. M. C. 



Washington, D. C. 



1. If the violets are doing all right, let 

 well enough alone. If the manure in the 

 old hotbed is thoroughly moist, spread 

 evenly and packed firmly, it should make 

 a good enough bottom for a violet bed. 



2. There is danger of them rotting in 

 the window at this time of year. We 

 should prefer to wait till January or 

 February, then pour boiling water over 

 the seed, letting it get cool, then leaving 

 the seed in soak over night, if the skin 

 should then be hard and the seeds un- 

 swoUen notch them with the file, and 

 plant at once in ordinarily moist earth 

 and keep in a warm temperature. They 

 will probably be dormant in the cold 

 frame till April or May. 



.3. Is the bignonia a hardy or a tender 



FLANT TO OROW NEAR THE RADIATOR. 



F. X. B., Indiana, asks: "Is there any 

 plant that will do well on a narrow shelf 

 just above the radiator in conservatory? 

 This shelf is a famous place to start seeds, 

 but the current of hot airis strongenough 

 to keep the leaves moving, and ivy gera- 

 niums and other old friends that have 

 been tried there don't seem to enjoy the 

 location," 



Had I such a place to decorate with 

 plants I would certainly use an interest- 

 ing collection of crassula plants. Eche- 

 veria metallica and its variety ^/auca, E. 

 Schmidtii, E. carinata, Crassula triden- 

 tata and manv other crassulas, sedums 

 (some of which are very decorative), 

 Otbonna crassitolia, Euphorbia Anti- 

 quorum, E. Canariensis and others of 

 such oddly decorative characters can 

 always be made into a group of interest- 

 ing plants which would not object to a 

 good share of dry heat if kept watered 

 accordingly. " James Gurney. 



Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis. 



GAS AFFECTING AOUSE PLANTS. 



L. B., Chicago, asks: "Can I do any- 

 thing to counteract theefiect of illuminat- 

 ing gas on house plants? It does not 

 perceptibly escape, yet since its presence 

 the leaves'are falling oft' begonias, fuch- 

 sias, etc., and all my plantsaresuff'ering." 



.\side from purifying the atmosphere, 

 not that we know of. But you could 

 grow less sensitive plants, for instance 

 palms, ficus, aspidistra, aloes, and the 

 like, brightening them with oxalis, cras- 

 sula, and bulbous plants, and leave fuch- 

 sias till spring. Begonias, especially the 

 thick large-leaved sorts, make fine window 

 plants and we know where they are very 

 thriftv in windows of houses where gas is 

 burned. But a hot, dr\' atmosphere 



